


T'ha chuna

by Nuju



Series: Imperial Short Stories [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22173568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuju/pseuds/Nuju
Summary: He smiled slightly. “T’ha chuna.”She blinked. “What?”“T’ha chuna,” he repeated, grinning openly now. She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve just made that up, admit it.”
Relationships: Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Imperial Short Stories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/981360
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	T'ha chuna

The _Chimaera_ was in orbit over a green and brown world, and if Ellen remembered correctly, this world was called Lothal. And just as it had happened before, Thrawn was attacking the planet. Of course not personally, but he had ordered his troops to attack a rebel outpost a few clicks off the main city. Ellen watched the destruction that ensued on the planet’s surface from the observation gallery that was part of Thrawn’s – and presumably her – private quarters, bile rising in her throat. She was disgusted at how much destruction she could see even from orbit. She couldn’t rightly think of a reason that would warrant such a punishment. Because that was what the Empire, or Thrawn in particular in this case, dealt out. After another explosion on the surface, she turned her face away, unwilling to watch any more. For the umpteenth time in a row she cursed her sister silently. She had consciously decided _not_ to go with Thrawn. Deep down she’d known that it wouldn’t be a wise thing to do. He would continue to go to war with someone or something, fighting battles against people with legitimate points of view that were not accepted or even tolerated by the Empire. Why hadn’t her sister seen this? Had she really believed that it would’ve been best to send Ellen with him? She really hoped that she had simply miscalculated.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around, half expecting to see Thrawn enter the room. Yet, as she turned, she realized that couldn’t be since the battle was still in full swing. Before she could do anything, the muzzle of a blaster was pressed against her forehead. “Don’t move.”

Ellen froze and looked at the man standing in front of her. He was almost as tall as Thrawn, with short brown hair, a goatee and thick eyebrows. His eyes were pale green and he looked like a man who had already survived his share of intense battles.

He looked at her for a moment and then lowered the weapon. “Who are you?”

She kept standing still. “I could ask the same. What are _you_ doing here?”

He held up a hand and smirked. “We’re not getting anywhere with this. I suppose you’re something like…” His eyes swept around the room. “A bit of mobile decoration for the Grand Admiral?”

Ellen lifted an eyebrow. “Mobile decoration? I’m offended on top of being threatened with a gun.” He smiled slyly and lifted the blaster again. “I’m sorry. I don’t think anyone deserves to be treated unfairly, if that makes you feel any better.”

She snorted. “Let me guess, you’re one of the rebels from down there and want to do something similarly nasty to the Grand Admiral?”

He moved his blaster to the side, gesturing her to go that way. “Close enough. But I think I’ve finally found something. Maybe I can get something out of this by taking you with me. You must know that I really hate hurting people.”

She moved in the indicated direction – towards the door to the secondary command room. “I’m glad to hear that. But I’m not sure if I’ll be of any use to you.” She could try to play him, leading him to believe that she was really nothing more but mobile decoration. But then, what was she to Thrawn anyway? A friend with benefits? A lover? An attaché? Or maybe something altogether different. Someone he truly loved? How should she know? The man was an _enigma_ – and that was on a good day.

The rebel stepped with her into the secondary command room, a room held completely in a dark red with only minimal lighting to peer through the gloom. “I guess we’ll find out sooner or later. If you’re of no use to me, I can still let you go once I’m safely off this ship.”

A soft click tore through the darkness of the room. The man grabbed Ellen and pressed the blaster against her right temple, stepping close behind her and slung his other arm around her neck. “Come out where I can see you,” he demanded. “I know you’re there so don’t play coy.”

From the shadows, Thrawn emerged, holding a small hand blaster pointed directly at the rebel and Ellen. “Let her go,” he replied, his eyes moving slowly up and down her body – checking for injuries, no doubt.

The rebel chuckled. “Just like that? Admiral, you know better than that. I can’t just let her go, else you’d kill me. And that’s not really an option.” He pressed the blaster tighter against her temple and Ellen winced as the muzzle bit into the soft skin.

Thrawn’s face stayed expressionless although Ellen thought she could see his shoulder muscles tensing. The rebel, on the other hand, didn’t. “Put the blaster down. Now.”

The Grand Admiral shook his head minutely. “You know that I can’t do that either. What do you want, Hekrin?”

Hekrin chuckled, then turned deadly serious. “That’s more like it, Admiral. Call off the attack on Lothal. And then you’ll stop your attacks on us altogether. If not…” He tightened his grip around Ellen’s throat for a second so that she gasped for air. “I’ll have to hurt your girl.”

Thrawn lifted his blaster again. “You will not hurt anyone, Hekrin. I’ll see to that.”

“What?” The rebel scoffed, then his voice turned knowing. “Oh, I see. She’s a little more than just ‘your girl’, isn’t she? You really care for her, is that it?” Thrawn’s expression didn’t falter but the lines around his eyes tightened.

Hekrin put his finger on the trigger and shoved the gun roughly into Ellen’s temple. She grunted, her vision blurring momentarily, then dug her finger nails into the arm around her neck but the man didn’t care. “Now Thrawn, what’s it gonna be? Your paramour for my friends? Or will we have to settle this in an all-out war?”

Thrawn didn’t look at him. He was looking at her, Ellen realized. “I’m sorry I have to do this to you,” he said apologetically. “But there is no other way. _T’ha chuna_.”

Before either Hekrin or Ellen could react, he fired his blaster. Ellen winced and then froze. For a moment she wasn’t sure if the shot had hit her or Hekrin. She slowly opened her eyes to see Thrawn still standing there. He had lowered the weapon but he hadn’t moved. Then she realized that Hekrin wasn’t holding her any more. He was lying on his back, she saw as she slowly stepped away from him. He looked baffled, his eyes wide open and a cauterized wound in the middle of his forehead. Thrawn had shot him neatly in the head, while Hekrin was holding her at gunpoint. She couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it and the sight of the dead man made her stomach turn. She turned away, holding her hands in front of her face, taking a few deep yet ragged breaths.

After a moment, Thrawn holstered the blaster and spoke again. “I understand if that makes you despise me. But you have to understand that I will never let anyone threaten or hurt you. And that also means that I’ll kill anyone who tries.”

She looked back at Hekrin and started shaking. “You didn’t just try to protect me, you murdered him in cold blood and expect me to _understand_? He would’ve let me go if you’d just fulfilled his request. It was _that_ simple, Thrawn.”

He took a few steps towards her. “Are you sure about that?” He moved to put his hand on her shoulders, which she slapped away. “I’m sure. And I’m even more certain that you are less trustworthy than him. You’re just a cold-hearted murderer,” she accused him and her voice broke as she started crying.

He caught her hand and pulled her away from Hekrin’s body. “Don’t look.” He pulled out his comlink and ordered a few stormtroopers to remove the body from the room. Then he went into the adjacent room with her. Ellen resisted as best she could but ultimately, she wasn’t strong enough and let him pull her into an embrace. She clenched her hands into fists and pressed them against his chest. “You murdered him,” she kept repeating against the cloth of his pristine white uniform. He had put his arms around her and held her close, mumbling soft words into her hair. After a long time, at least it felt long to Ellen, he softly spoke again. “Have I told you why I chose to fight for the Empire and not the rebels?”

She had stopped crying and now she reluctantly held onto him, her body still shaking. “I didn’t even know the rebels were an option for you…” Her voice was calmer now, as she looked out of the window at the planet beneath. “Given how you mercilessly destroy their every attempt at fighting against the Empire.”

Thrawn smiled into her hair. “No, I don’t suppose I’ve given the impression that it was an option.” He gently stroked her back, following her gaze outside. “But the decision wasn’t easy. I had to choose between a group of idealists who consider their every move to be in the service of freedom and security in a vast galaxy. The other group was a rebellion, which claimed to be fighting for the very same things and promised to fight corruption. I chose the former for one simple reason. It is a stable government, a stable system that presents the galaxy as a strong united collection of independent yet cooperative thinkers and fighters. And that is what it takes to win the wars to come.”

Ellen narrowed her eyes for a moment, then looked up at him. “The wars to come?”

He placed his other hand on her cheek. “There are much bigger and more dangerous threats lurking beyond the borders of known space. The Unknown Regions and the other galaxies hold more dangers than anyone can imagine.”

She looked at him curiously, a dark suspicion settling into her gut. “You’ve seen those dangers…”

Thrawn simply gazed back at her, his lack of reaction sending a shiver through her. “I’ve seen enough to know that those dangers must be faced by all beings in the galaxy _together_. If we don’t, we don’t stand a chance.” She looked at nothing for a moment, letting his words sink in. Then the obvious question came to mind. “So why don’t you tell the rebels about those dangers? That we need to fight together to ward them off.”

He moved his thumb softly across her cheek and tilted his head to the side. “It will be a long time before they attack. It could take millennia. I don’t know when, but I know that humans and most of the other species do not have the patience required to work together towards a goal that is barely tangible for them.” He surveyed her face before continuing. “Chiss do have a lot more patience than most other species. And furthermore, would you be worried about a threat, which you cannot perceive, which you’ve only been told about and for which there is no proof?”

Ellen pondered his words for a long time before finally answering. “No, I don’t think I would believe it, especially if I was a rebel hearing it from an Imperial Officer who murdered many of my comrades and friends.” She had the satisfaction of seeing the guilty look on his face. “No, I suppose none of them would believe me.”

She surveyed his face in return. “You know, I _do_ believe you. You’re obviously worried about this threat, or threats, and I don’t think you’re one to mince words or lie.” She placed her hand upon his and held it tightly. “But I also think you should re-consider your methods. Killing isn’t the way. Self-defense is one thing, but all-out war? I don’t see how anything could excuse this.”

He smiled knowingly. “It’s not as easy as you make it sound, Ellen. But I understand why you believe in preserving lives. That is why I want a united galaxy to stand against these threats. It’s the only way to preserve as many lives as possible.” Before she could answer, he placed his thumb gently on her lips. “But that’s enough for now.”

She tried to look indignantly at him but her resolve faltered as he kissed her on the forehead. “I wish you wouldn’t do that…” She mumbled against his thumb.

He lifted an eyebrow and looked at her. “Do what, exactly?”

She smiled helplessly, guiding his hand away from her mouth and holding it between hers. “Play me like a well-tuned instrument. Sometimes I feel like whatever I think about or am about to do, you already know. When I’m trying to convince myself not to do something, you’ll come around and make me do it anyway.” She pressed her forehead against his chest, regarding his blue hand between her tiny tan ones. “I’m an open book to you. It’s like you’ve already known me for years...”

He chuckled, a deep, resonating sound that vibrated from his chest throughout his entire body. “Then maybe it’s because you’re making it _too_ easy for me to read you.” She shivered at the sound of his voice and looked up. “I thought you were decent enough _not_ to do this.” He smiled, his white teeth glistening in stark contrast to his blue skin. “Well, you can’t blame me for trying something new, can you?”

He leaned down and kissed her lovingly and she melted against him. _No_ , she thought, _I really can’t_. She softly disengaged from the kiss and looked at him questioningly. “You said something back there...”

He smiled slightly. “T’ha chuna.”

She blinked. “What?”

“T’ha chuna,” he repeated, grinning openly now. She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve just made that up, admit it.”

He shook his head slightly. “No, I didn’t…”

She frowned. “Tashuna?” He chuckled. “ _T’ha_ chuna. I admit, it _is_ hard to pronounce.”

She looked closely at his mouth, trying again to form the strange words with her own lips. Out came something that didn’t even remotely sound like what he had said. “Takschuhna?”

He gave a snort laugh. “Actually, that was a little closer than your previous attempt.”

She rolled her eyes. “I think you know I won’t be able to say whatever you’ve just said. At least tell me what it means.”

He smirked and took her chin gently into his palm. “Try to relax your jaws and make the sounds less with your teeth and more with your tongue. It’s a syllabic language, most of the sounds are made using your tongue and lips only.” She lifted an eyebrow but then complied. “Ta chuna…?”

He moved her chin as he spoke the words again, mimicking his own movement. “T’ha chuna.”

She tried again. “T’ha chuna.” A smile appeared on his lips. “Espi’hlo t’ha chuna.”

Her smile vanished. “What?”

He kissed her gently. “Espi’hlo t’ha chuna, Ellen.”

She had called it alright. An enigma on a good day. She looked at him, helplessly confused. “You know, I’m glad I was able to pronounce the two words but what in the Empire are you saying?”

“You told me you felt like I could deduce your every thought. Why don’t you try to do the same with me?” He let his fingers glide through her long golden hair and marveled at her face. She thought she had seen him use the same expression when he looked at his art collection. _No_ , she corrected herself, _not the same expression_. It was similar, that much was true, but he was looking at her more intensely. She looked back at him, then considered for a moment. His eyes followed her every movement, she could feel it.

Finally, she spoke again. “I suppose this is your native tongue. Otherwise you would’ve said it in basic. So it was something Hekrin wasn’t supposed to understand. But given that I don’t speak your native tongue, you must’ve thought I would get the gist of it because I’ve known you for some time now…” She frowned again. “It cannot be ‘I’m sorry’ since you’ve said that before already. And you wouldn’t have said it again now, when there’s nothing left to apologize for, which means…” She looked back up at him, her eyes widening a little in surprise.

He smiled knowingly. “It would seem that you’ve picked up on how to discern the meaning behind certain… _tactics_ I use.”

She shook her head in exasperation. “You’re impossible, Thrawn.” She then leaned in and kissed him again, her hands snaking up his torso, grabbing the collar of his uniform, and tugging him towards her. At the same time, Thrawn grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him, kissing her back. The moment seemed to last forever, before their lips parted slightly. “You could’ve just said what it means, you know?” She whispered, nibbling at his lower lip. He clacked his tongue and looked at her through half-closed eyes. “Where would’ve been the fun in that?”

She smirked and bit his lip teasingly, which made him groan slightly. “Oh, I don’t know. We could’ve skipped the linguistics session…” His hands moved up her back and grabbed a fistful of hair. “That would’ve been too easy.” He gently pulled her head back a few centimeters so that he could look at her. “But if you insist, I can repeat myself in basic.” Without waiting for her reaction, he pulled her close again, his mouth now directly next to her ear, as he softly nibbled at her earlobe. Her knees buckled and she held onto him more tightly, as he whispered with his ‘commanding voice’ into her ear. “I love you.”

Her knees grew even weaker as she moved one of her hands through his thick black hair. “I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I found this older short fic in the depths of my pc. I thought you'd like it :)


End file.
